Archive from Daisy's
Journal - the early months (August and November - 2005
Daisy is the "Orange" (yarn
collar) pup from Taffey's litter. She is very "birdy", but outside of occasionally
stalking her siblings, Daisy did not show any point the two days
the litter was tested (at six weeks). Four of
the six pups showed quite a bit of point at less than seven weeks of age
(just like Taffey). Daisy had
only one
thing on her mind - charge! Taffey was a second female pup pick and so is Daisy.
My derby dog?
There is a story behind her name. It started a few
years ago watching a young dog running some marks for my
pro friend Brain Moyse. Wow! What a speedy,
laser type runner she was. So the name kind of sets the tone,
as far as I am concerned, for something on the flashy
side. When the litter arrived, the pup I was going to
keep was to be called Daisy because the Dusty and Taffey
pups will be very fast. It was a
special litter, and
there were five female pups.
Unfortunately, "White" (because she was) was born
without a tail, and she certainly didn't need a yarn collar
to identify her. She had difficult breathing at
first, was the smallest at birth, very cute and a real fighter. We
knew she wasn't going to be sold, and a possible name was Kwick Gimmia A Chance with
the call name of
"Mia". She nursed Taffey, played with her siblings, snuggled with
me a lot and made way more eye contact
than any of the other pups at first. As the four week time frame
came upon us it was suddenly clear that
there were other complications which would make it nearly impossible for
her to carry on.
Two difficult days (with lots of tears) revealed the
sad, downside to being a breeder. We went to the vets to
stop any suffering. At that moment I decided to call
her Daisy.....you see, she just had to have a name that
meant something. This Daisy was wrapped in a whelping box
blanket and buried in the front Hosta garden
under a blue limestone rock. A perennial Daisy, which
hasn't bloomed yet, was planted for her. The
significance of the other "Orange" collared Kwick pup's name becomes the rest of the story...............Kwick
Daisy's Spirit Keeper.
Born June 10th, makes December 10th her six month
milestone. Daisy will see lots of water this summer,
then be an eager spectator in the fall and winter during
hunting season. Big goals!
Aug 3 Blue left at 4:00 am and Weather.com looked
good. We called on the way to check with Delta airlines
at 4:30 am (That's when they open). It was too far to wait and call, then
leave. They said it was a go! 30
minutes later they called back and said the wrong numbers were punched in and
Salt Lake City would
be over the 85° limit.........not according the Weather.com,
but their own weather reports. My favorite
word seemed appropriate.......DUH! The result was 100 miles of driving and
almost four hours of sleep
lost. Blue is now back in Daisy's "duplex" and gets two more days with his
"Lab Babe". Friday night
Blue will try Northwest Airline's VIP pup cargo.
Aug 5 Blue left for Minneapolis. His flight for
Helena had to be changed to Great Falls because of mechanical
problems, but he made it.
Aug 6 Daisy is on her own today and she was
introduced to her crate. Thinking about all my previous pups,
it suddenly dawned on me that when "keeping one", the transition is totally
different. There is no trip,
no new house, mom's smell is still around, the yard is the same and the people
are familiar. There is
none of the stress. Does it make a difference? Will not having to
make those adjustments be a plus?
Daisy complained incessantly when the other
dogs were near her and she could see me. Moving the
crate to the same area that Taffey and Kooly used proved to be the standard.
She soon fell asleep.
Her crate will be kept there until it is comfortable for her. Daisy is much more
of a beggar that either
of Taffey or Kooly. She would love to be spoiled.
Aug 7 After working a field trial all day, the
time is now right to begin the puppy routine -
structured format.
Pups thrive on predictable patterns that are
fun and fair.
Early Puppy Philosophy
(Link) Archives:
Dec-April, 2004 Kooly's Timeline
Taffey's Detailed Timeline (First Six
Months)
note: Daisy is quite obsessed with retrieving her paint roller & even pounces on
a
heavy 2" regular rubber bumper (snatching it up, bringing it back & holding it
in the middle)
Aug 8 the whelping "duplex" was taken down,
a metal
crate divider was placed inside it to cut the size
in half, went with
Kooly and Taffey for their morning training session, Daisy helped me plant the
blinds & then watched
the dogs work from her crate (very "yappy")
note: don't take her along when training with someone else
started the "three hour" routine - confine & do "something" every three hours &
confine
note: feeding at 6 am, noon & 6 pm
note: things to do - take the "Walk", ride along during training sessions, feed,
air, playtime
alone in yard, playtime with someone in the house, retrieves (three or four with
paint
roller or bumper), a brief sit to eat, go outside, retrieve & put puppy collar on,
lots of
short
chew times on a pig ear, with collar on there is tethered time in front of the
TV
note: when she is "out and about" & supervised, her collar with a short tab is
on
Aug 9 watered & out at 3:00 am, aired at
6:45 am (no mistakes in house or crate since we started), fed ten
minutes later (1 cup of Pro Plan Large Breed puppy with a little warm water on
it), out to air with
collar on, back to living room for "tether time", watched OLN duck hunting for
half hour, chewed
pig ear & finished off with three short retrieves, back out to water & air,
"kenneled up" with one
Pro Plan kibble (total morning time supervised 1 hour & 15 minutes, not looked at until 9:00 for a
quick airing & back in
the crate with a
"kibble kennel-up", somewhere around noon to 1:00 pm
she will be will be fed and the 7:00 am routine repeated
note: she knows the routine and seems quite content, while at the same time very
excited
about how it is going
note: no "walk" this morning, getting hot way too fast and the older dogs had to be
trained
by 9:00 am
Aug 10 usual "stuff" today, no mistakes in the house
and quickly goes outside, skipped retrieves this
morning and did four at 11:30 pm just before putting her "up" for the night -
wow! sat on her
own and stared at the bumper in my hand, after throwing she watched it hit the
floor and then
went after it = very good focus for an eight week old pup
note: zips up and down the seven steps from the rec room to the living room &
does well
on the short tether sessions
note: the crying and barking in the crate have ceased
Aug 11 normal day the usual "stuff"
Aug 12 normal day plus "The Walk" at BT's in the evening
Aug 13 normal day around the house
Aug 14 early morning walk around the block on leash (easy,
quick study), rest of day's activities cancelled
because of teenage, two legged "puppy" (David) - broken wrist requiring surgery
Aug 15 trip to vets to start series of permanent shots Daisy
(already has had temporary Parvo & Distemper)
walk this morning 3/4 mile around the block & evening "The Walk" in BT's
training grounds
note: weight at two months - 14.4 pounds
note: Daisy had her first experience with "hide-an-seek''
Aug 16 my
last day before officially becoming a senior citizen, normal "stuff" around the
house
and another long "Walk" at BT's toward evening
Aug 17 worked taking down the top cover on
the flight pen & Daisy spent the morning outside, late
afternoon we took a walk through Kinnikinnick Creek Conservation Area
Aug 18 heavy rains this morning
& just spent the day around the house, Daisy is becoming quite a "yapper",
carefully making sure not to reward the behavior with either negative or
positive reactions (just ignore
until she stops & then go about what ever was planned), the isolated crate
in the pool area is very
helpful
note: second dose of Panacur today at noon
note: start feeding her on a place board in the morning
Aug 19 today was another day of "yapping" & after watching her closely
the read is she just needs more to do
note: finished Panacur treatment
note: need to work on some fun games which require very little control
strengths:
1) very observant & focused, 2) likes motion and retrieving, 3) kind of
compulsive already
(need to turn that into positive actions), 4) very happy pup (just plain excited
about any
thing), 5) surprisingly focused on anything "intriguing"
These all translate into a need for more action with a more substantial and
predictable structure.
weaknesses: 1) very demanding for attention and 2) over bonded (if that's
possible)
These will require activities where there is minimal external presence (promote
independence & comfort).
note: Spend the next week designing "the program" starting with random lists of
activities,
locations, equipment. Design with a specific focus and rationale to emphasize
strengths
and overcome weaknesses. When she is finished teething, a routine of
teaching and
learning will have been established. Do a well known activity first, present the
new
"thing" next and finish with something she is really good at and likes. These
three
things must not last more than five minutes. The routine of presentation
will be
preceded and concluded with a minimum of 30 minutes crate time.
Aug 20 Daisy rode with Kooly to watch Taffey run a Finished HRC test,
afterwards Daisy did her first water
retrieves - gravel runway pond at Bong Recreational Area, WI (see photo
gallery below)
note: the
only water Daisy has been in before today is the backyard "kiddy" pool 
Aug 21 rather bland day, normal around the house "stuff" because Taffey
was running a hunt test and two days
in a row on the truck was going to be a bit much
Aug 22 Daisy helped plant five blinds for Kooly with a few orange bumpers
thrown for her to retrieve, afterwards
a
full size Red Head Dokken was thrown for her to "mess with". Wow!
She didn't mess around!
Aug 23 normal "stuff" plus did "The Walk" in
a new area at BT's & she is beginning to "move out" (especially
when we are
walking into the wind)
Aug 24 ran three remote winger marks (20 yards with a 2 X 10" rubber bumper),
picked up the bumper on the
arc, watched the
fall and retrieved to hand (when taking down the winger she was running around
looking for more
bumpers)
note: parked the truck so she could get a good look at Kooly running his triple,
the .22 blank
gun never bothered her
Aug 25 ran three remote winger land marks at "The Square Pond" (better known as puppy
land - a nice pond
with mowed grass
and lots of easy terrain changes), went down by the pond with camera in hand in
case Daisy did
what I thought she would do
note: link to pictures of the retrieve - Daisy's 1st
Deep Water Retrieve (Link)
note: OK, I'll say it.....this pup is more scary
precocious than Taffey.
Aug 26 Daisy rode along with Kooly & Daisy to train at
Stoughton, helped set-up and ran around checking
things
out, between set-ups she gets two short land marks and then gets to check out a
decoy & getting
no
verbal encouragement from me, she was unable to "grab" it she comes back from her swim, then
she picks up a
bumper thrown past the decoy which she ignores (except for a couple of glances)
Aug 27 normal "stuff" around the house
Aug 28 rode along to Gallagher's training grounds and helped set-up two
winger doubles for Kooly
and
Taffey, afterwards she watched those two work with a good view from the truck,
when they
finished it was her turn, retrieved two remote winger marks from the same pond &
then helped
me
"clean up" (she's having fun & went for a couple of swims on her own)
Aug 29 slow day around the house (no retrieves) and worked on "no-yapping"
Interceptor & Frontline Plus
Aug 30 rode along to train with Kooly and afterwards ran two water singles
(met her at the pond's edge)
swallowed a bunch of water and still brought the bumper in, stopped fooling
around with her &
put the
Dogta "Yapper Zapper" on (she handled Level 4 just fine - no more noise)
note: need to be very careful fitting and moving it (prongs) as her little puppy
neck is delicate
This
evening we tried the method Brent reminded me of - put some pennies in an
aluminum soft
drink
can and make a lot of noise with it when she "yaps". Initially she was
startled, but stopped
barking, laid down and relaxed.
note: stopped at vet's on the way home to buy some Frontline Plus for the older
dogs
Daisy weighs 20.4 pounds and is eating well (at two months she was 14.4 pounds)
Sept 1 rode along and watched all the dogs run marks, long morning and
then got a couple of easy
marks
at break time
Sept 2 watch all the dogs train (good view) at Brian's, tossed a clipped
wing shackled pigeon for her to
fetch -
very possessive and would not return (It's mine!) need to avoid retrieving birds
unless on a
check
cord
Sept 3 spent a lot of the day in the house, did a long "Walk" at
Kinnikinnick Creek Conservation Area,
starting to sit before leaving crate and after exiting to put on her collar,
same routine at the house
doors
and establishing routine for entering/exiting the crate in the truck
Sept 4 spent the day on the truck at Kooly's hunt test and was about as
perfect a pup as you could ask,
(evening) retrieved some bumpers from the indoor swimming pool & knows where the steps out
are
Sept 5 went to help with training at Brian's and she is a little lady on
the truck
note: can't help but think that Kooly's laid back attitude on the truck has set
a good example
for Daisy
Sept 6 slow day as far as activity, but she did have some neighbors come
in to visit and play with her
note: Daisy did do a little more swimming late this afternoon
Sept 7 rode along for a training day, got some
water retrieves in the pool at night
Sept 8 trained with Brian and Linda, Daisy had her first ducks and primer pistol
session - she scarfed up
the ducks "real
easy", check cord was a must as she wasn't about to "give'em up"
note: sat, focused on the throw and very determined to the two marks - neat!
Sept 9 went to train Brian's test dogs including Taffey (Daisy's mom)
Sept 10-11 easy days around the house - it's hot outside!, waited for news about
Taffey - two HRC
Finished passes and
an HRCH title this weekend - Daisy's mom is looking good
Sept 12 played and did some simple leash OB
Sept 13 went to vet's for second series of puppy shots, weight 24.3 pounds
(three months)
note: went for a long walk in the close alfalfa field, threw four 2" rubber
bumper marks
working to a slight remote sit at about five yards, released on flight of the
bumper
note: work on more visual marking in the mowed grass at the "Square Pond"
Sept 14 went for a long walk in the alfalfa field (just the two of us) and
picked up three marks
Sept 15 went along to train with the older dogs, Brian threw two ducks for her (birdy
little girl!)
Sept 16 three remote winger singles at the Square Pond (need longer check cord -
I'm not quick enough)
ran two
water marks almost to the other side of the pond, entry slopes, mud, lunging
water swim
note: exceptional focus and drive, time to start warming up to the idea of more
leash
time, long check cord and eventual e-collar to "here"
Sept 17 work on first day of easy OB imprinting (two five minute sessions and
wear dummy collar)
Sept 18 basic day around the house, but doing more to the door and out on a
leash, sit at the door an
after
exiting (has that down), bumper holds in living room
Sept 19 rode to Brian's and spent the morning on the truck, easy day at home,
bumper holds again
Sept 20 rode along to train with a group, got there early and worked with check
cord and very short
retrieves and a much easier gentle "here", Daisy handled this well - got to
remember to keep
moving
along slowly, she is such a high energy pup it easy to get swept up in the
"rush"
note: fast dog......work slow
note: started putting two fingers in her mouth and teaching "quiet" mouth (no
munching
or mouthing (caught on quickly)
Sept 21 rode along with Kooly to train with group at Gallagher, first time she
has ever been staked out
and
handled that well, few Kwick bumper marks on the end of a check cord
note: continued with the two fingers in mouth drill (much easier today)
note: this puppy is pure energy & will sit and stare at a bumper in your hand
fully
expecting another throw
note: Daisy is sleeping hard tonight
Sept 22 rode along to BT's for group training, got a couple of short duck marks
(check cord on & "spiraled"
in for
the return)
note: need to work on drop 
Sept 23 Daisy is doing quite well on the sitting "exercises" - before coming out
of the crate, afterwards to
put on
her collar, before a door to exit the house and the reverse of those (started
extending those
a bit
more today, in and out of her kennel in the truck is down pat and she loves
riding along with
the
older dogs
note: need to work on a more reliable 'here"
Sept 24 After introducing the pinch collar to her a few minutes a day over the
last few weeks, she was taken
on a ¾
mile walk around the block with Kooly at heel (on the other side). There
was no talking and
no
expectations. but the leash was kept short enough to keep her in the general
area of heeling.
Kooly
was as calm as a "cucumber" (especially when he realized Daisy was not going to
be all over
him).
She did well. When Taffey was that age, she regularly "jumped" up like a prong
horn antelope
at
heel. It must be genetic.
Sept 25 easy day in the house
Sept 26 long walk in the forest preserve, took a bunch of pictures &
ended up playing in Kinnikinnick Creek
on the road in with the culverts....Daisy took a quick look up one of the
culverts and it must have
reminded her of "The Tunnel". Next thing I know she is coming out the other end
and upstream.
Sept 27 walk around the block and the normal house "stuff"
Sept 28 did about eight water retrieves today - very cold tonight and
water temp's are going to drop for a
few days (Daisy loves the water)
Sept 29 Today, the parading with a bumper and playing "You can't get me
if I don't want you to." is over. The
check cord is OK, but she goes into a "death spiral" on the way back.
Daisy has been wearing a bark
collar for quite awhile. It is the same size as the e-collar. She has responded
to the bark collar very
well. A minute to find out her minimum level and she decided bringing bumpers
right to me on "here"
is a really great idea after all. Smart pup, no anxiety with minimum pressure and
a whole lot better
than reeling her in, check cord tangled around her fast little legs and pulling
her neck sideways
note: Smart pup and resilient just like her mom! Taffey handled this situation
exactly the same
way. The timing was right and no big deal. A small amount of restraint on
"here" will
finalize this concept. There will be no other use for the e-collar until formal
OB when
collar
conditioning is "sequenced".
note: disclaimer - don't even attempt this approach unless you have the
ideal pup that has
been properly prepared and you know exactly what you are doing, what to expect
and
how to react
Sept 30 walk around the block
Oct 1 easy morning & walk at the Square Pond
early evening = three land & two water marks
Oct 2 very warm day, walk around the block at
dusk (¾ of a mile), Interceptor &
Frontline Plus
Oct 3 short walk at the Square Pond
Oct 4 up the ante on sit (starting very short, in front,
step back remotes)
Oct 5
work on "here"
Oct 6 long walk in the alfalfa field with short remote sit
marks (very focused on sit meaning a
mark)
note: "here" is getting better, but she is mischievously independent
Oct 7 easy day around the house, worked on her "busy"
mouth
note: Daisy snapped up my tennis shoe just as she was released to go outside,
this proved to
be very interesting, a couple of "heres" made the rule of giving a command that
cannot
be enforced a clear concept, stepped inside the door to hide and she just ran
around
sniffing and playing without dropping it, all the while checking out the door
where I had
disappeared, after a few minutes, making several clever teasing feints at maybe
coming
in, curiosity got the best of her and she finally did (still with very nice hold
on the shoe),
what a punk!
Oct 8 long walk at BT's near dusk, worked on a few here's and
remote sits by the truck at the end
note: tethered later & worked on "busy" mouth plus started "teaching" how to
relax
Oct 9 walked about 45 minutes through ideal puppy cover at
the Rockton Road DTA, did six remote sit/here
note: does the same thing Taffey did on the remote "here" comes flying straight
at me and then
blasts right past, did not see this as a problem until later with Taffey & it
took quite
awhile to correct
Oct
10 four months old = at least two more months of
being a puppy (kind of ),
ran some pheasant cover
at Blonhaven for about 30 minutes, no birds and afterwards ran three short remote
sit marks
note:
Daisy is sitting nicely by herself remotely for the marks and returns to hand
now
the short e-collar intro ( just a couple of days) and kneeling down is working quite
well, also, the
bumper is
not taken from her until the "thrill" of bringing it back subsides
Oct 11-12 easy "stuff" around the house and still working on
teaching how to relax (tethered)
Oct 13 walk at the Square Pond, one water retrieve and four
longer land retrieves
note: remote sits for marks getting better and remote "sit/here" is excellent
note: on a leash she is still all over the place & don't want to get after her
yet, with winter
timed the way it is, by Jan 10th she will be seven months old, teething should
be
completed and February would be a good time time to start on FF, that would put
us
into March with weather ideal for pile work and leading to swim-by at just the
right
time as the water warms up, handling and de-cheating with maybe a few derbies in
August and September (14-15 months old), October, November and December hunting
and then maybe three months winter training in the south preparing for derbies
in
April, May and first week of June (21-23 months old), train all summer and then
Masters & QAA with Kooly
(Dream Day)
Oct 14 (morning) long walk at Macktown DTA in heavy
cover with four remote sit retrieves in the short
grass nursery area,
(afternoon) vet appointment for Daisy's
final shots weight 34.9 lbs estimate of
34 lbs on 10/10 four months old
Oct 15 ran with Kooly and Taffey at Blonhaven, eventually
started to leave them alone and went into the
cover on her own, staked out to watch Kooly and Taffey run the pattern blind
drill, had two remote
sit marks & slept well the rest of the day
Oct 16 went for some exercise at the alfalfa field after the
sun went down (bright moon and open field was
still very clear), threw a few remote sit marks out to about 50 yards (laser
pick-ups), threw a couple
of Dokken fun bumpers and worked on "here"
note: Daisy loves picking up bumpers, just like Taffey (striking similarities)
Oct 17 worked on remote sit, "here" and front sit with place
boards (twice today for 3-4 minutes)
Oct 18 started a bit more structured sit, remote sit, "here",
front sit and heel/sit left and right today using a
flexi-lead - Daisy thinks it is just another game, her tail is wagging
continually and her focus is
totally on me - she likes the "game" (twice-a-day for 2-3 minutes each time)
note: Daisy is always looking for something to do and "anything" is all she
needs, it makes
no difference what it is. She is demonstrating the learning/training mode
and is looking
for action. Now is the time to introduce a more structured, predictable routine
with
something she knows (familiar & review), something new (exciting & stimulating)
and
ending with something she likes to maintain the joy of lessons. It is not yet
formal
obedience, but rather guiding and showing things and actions to do in a game
format.
There is no enforcement as a consequence, rather a physical and emotional bond
in
doing something together. We are becoming a team and establishing roles. This is
somewhat abstract, but the pup dictates the pace.
Oct 19 worked two very short sessions of sit, here, heel with the
flexi-lead & in the evening took a walk
around the block on lead, late evening tossed four short doubles (3 yds and 8
yards at 45°) in the
"training room", first three she did not remember the "memory toss", but saw it
each time when
held and pointed in that direction = picked it up, on the fourth as soon as she
handed over the "go
toss" she wheeled to look for and pounce on the "memory toss"
note: right afterwards she was fed, watered, aired and "put to bed" for the
night (10:00 am)
Oct 20 walk around the block and, short flexi-lead session & a
couple of doubles
Oct 21 repeat of yesterday
Oct 22 stayed home when the other three dogs went on a guided hunt,
long walk at BT's near dusk
note: still very demanding for attention when crated, it's not doing any good
though
Oct 23 (morning
& afternoon) did two sessions of remote sit, here, front sit OB drills, worked
on heeling
and front sit/heeling (using Flexi-lead), ran the erosion strips in a corn field
near the Square Pond
at dusk, the two of us went after dropping off the three "big" dogs at home
note: Daisy is dynamic doing OB (just super ecstatic about trying anything)
Oct 24 two sessions of OB and three retrieves with semi-expectation
of returning to hand, no rush to take
bumper
Oct 25 two sessions of "relaxing" tethered to me watching TV plus
the usual OB "games"
Oct 26 repeat of yesterday plus two hours of helping me clean up
the tomato plants (frost tonight)
note: Daisy is so much like Taffey - what a neat pup she is!
Oct 27 OB early afternoon inside, ran five or six Dokken marks at
the Square Pond, Daisy was
returning to hand just like in her OB drill routine until the third bird =
full blown keep away,
went to hide behind the truck & counted to 110...still wasn't enough = but it
cooled me off
,
final mark she was fine
Oct 28 two OB sessions with the Flexi-lead, tethered session by TV
in the evening working on relaxing
Oct 29 walk around the block with two-sided heeling, remote
sit/here/front sit and wheeling to side
sit position, usual house play, crated from 8:30 am until 4:00 pm as we went to
a funeral, Daisy
handled this well - good pup! (8 hours & way beyond any previous crating stint)
note: Daisy's "yapping and whining" for attention has noticeably decreased
Oct 30 focused on general OB, working slower and using a low, quiet voice
Oct 31
Today was just for the pups. Kooly will be two in November and he needed a
little time to review
pheasants in the upland. Daisy will be five months old in two weeks. The three
of us arrived at
Blonhaven Hunt Club about 10:30 am and it was a perfect morning – cool, decent
scenting conditions
and
plenty of cover.
It
didn’t take her long to get excited when the crate of chukars were thrown in the
back of the truck.
Daisy
was first and got four chukars planted one at a time to hunt up and flush (no
shooting). It was
to be
her first live bird imprinting in the uplands. She’d already had live quail in
the backyard when
she was
a little over six weeks old. After four finds and flushes, she was not totally
convinced that
fly-a-ways weren’t catch’able. Daisy was crated, but her attitude was strictly,
“I want more!”
Kooly
got one chukar to work on sit-to-flush, and then we set out for scratch birds.
The cover is waist
high or
better with a ton of tough, dense sorghum. The run in him is excellent. After we
managed to
scratch
out four pheasants, it was back to the truck for water.
Daisy
is gun conditioned and her OB is not bad. So she came out to run with Kooly for
maybe 20
minutes
to finish up. She was all over him…..jumping on his back, biting his ears and
hanging on
every
move. Kooly was very forgiving, but soon hit the cover to loose her. Kooly
flushed up a
pheasant and suddenly, Daisy was no longer interested in him. She started
hunting – nose down
and
tail a waggin”. My first reaction was to head for the truck, but we took the
long way back.
Kooly
was pushing another pheasant when Daisy shot off to the left and rushed what
turned out to
be a
rooster. He was completely caught off guard by the move and flushed from
underneath Daisy’s
nose. I
dropped him and Kooly went for the retrieve. I’m sure he had the pheasant first,
but the
next
thing I know, Daisy is walking back to me with a rooster in her mouth. She
wasn’t supposed
to have
a bird shot over her today, but it was her time. Tomorrow she goes back to just
being
a
puppy. 
Nov 1 two sessions of OB using Flexi- lead - same routine remote
sit/"here" with a front finish and then
right
or left heel, heeling and sitting on both sides
Nov 2 repeat of two sessions (less than five minutes) plus
tether/relax time
Nov 3 repeat two sessions plus tether/relax time
Nov 4 Daisy rode along with the other three dogs to Blonhaven for a
tower shoot, afterwards she ran with
Lick to
look for cripples, Steve shot a rooster in another field and his dogs could not
retrieve it,
Daisy
had a nice 20 yard mark, picked it up and returned it to hand - good puppy!
Finished the
session
running with three older dogs and seems to have gotten over the pouncing, ear
biting and
just
plain being a pest - good puppy again
note: she has learned a lot this week - different perspective on what's up
note: Daisy has been teething for a few days now
Nov 5 repeat of two sessions (less than five minutes) plus
tether/relax time, three short retrieves (twice)
Nov 6 repeat of two sessions (less than five minutes) plus
tether/relax time, three short retrieves (twice)
Frontline Plus
Nov 7 one session similar to yesterday and two 50 yard winger marks
at Macktown DTA
note: no check cord and returned to hand - good puppy!
Nov 8 Daisy helped me plant the pattern blinds at Macktown DTA,
worked on OB with the Flexi-lead,
ran two
remote winger singles about 45 yards each (used paint rollers - teething) and
used a
looped
slip lead for slight restraint at the line
note: say "sit" when she knows there is going to be a mark and Daisy's butt hits
the ground
looking for what is going to produce a mark (excellent focus)
Nov 9 one OB routine in the "game" room and the "relax tether"
session on the living room floor
Interceptor
Nov 10 two remote winger marks at Macktown
Nov 11
Daisy rode along with the "big three" for a
guided hunt, stayed in her crate and watched, heard
shooting and smelled the birds, got out to run around a bit, "here" with
distractions not very
good,
still teething
Nov 12 two
OB routines in the "game" room and the "relax
tether" session on the living room floor
Nov 13 tower shoot day, afterwards the "team" rode up to Monroe to check
out Steve's deer blinds,
Daisy and Hera (Orange and Red sisters in Taffey's litter) fought, played, ran
through the woods
and meadow while swimming in the creek and pond (they still look almost alike)
Nov 14 two
OB routines in the "game" room and the "relax
tether" session on the living room floor,
three marks in a stickmen set-up, started working with a bumper on hold
(teething over)
Nov 15 hold lessons are about a minute long, two-three good holds right
after eating and airing, Daisy
thinks it is cool. tail wagging and happy, she sits square and eagerly takes the
bumper, the best
thing is that the earlier "glove work" got her over the very busy mouth thing,
she will now "drop"
a
shoe if I give the command (she love to run loose and grab "stuff" up off the
floor)
note: taking a very low key approach on hold (one or two in a few seconds), her
OB is
improving, but her puppy energy is way more than she can still deal with, she
will
continue with the tether lessons (relaxing and quiet time), the plan is to spend
at
least month five, six and into seven maturing, reaching off leash OB standards
and
getting a solid hold and here down pat before moving on to the ear pinch & FF
note: the plan - force fetched finished by March when she will be 9 months old,
ready for T
and by the time that is over - water will be warmed up well, a lot of
basic marking
will have been accomplished (late May) and ready for swim-by and de-cheating
note: Sept/Oct at 15/16 months we may do a couple of derbies & decide whether
going
south for four months is justified
Nov 16 rode along on guided hunt trip, OB session in the evening and work
on hold (short session)
Nov 17- 20 Ob, walks and hold, trimmed nails
Nov 21 trip to the vet to check on what appears to be a scar near her
eye, watch for another week
note: weight 43 pounds at five months
Nov 22 start back with winger marks and continue easy OB, start wearing
e-collar regularly
note: to the trainer.....slow down you have all winter
note: so the above turned into nothing but ear scratches, some quiet time and a
few
"Kwick Bumpers" to hold
note: off leash still wild - but showing some signs of changing
Nov 23 OB - sit, heel, two-sided & hold, walk - still needs to be
tethered in the house
Nov 24 worked on OB at "moving" time in the house, two simple marks in
the
front
yard (off lead retrieve, heel return delivery good)
Nov 25 rode along to Blonhaven with the older dogs - guided hunt, work on
here,
heel,
sit and hold (two sided), did one mark at Blonhaven and a short pickup
of a
fresh pheasant (getting better about "drop")
Nov 26 repeat of Nov 24th
Nov 27 OB repeats in the "play room" - heel, sit, remote sit/here and
hold remote sit here plus six
short marks (wearing e-collar)
Nov 28 ran six 40-60 yard marks with a large canvass bumper at the
McCurry Road short grass DTA
note: wearing e-collar & just beat the rain
note: working very short sessions of hold twice a day using a Kwick Bumper
Nov 29 ran two 60 yard marks at the baseball diamond - Noah as the bird
boy
note: OB & hold in game room
note: Daisy is fast!
note: cut rubber mats for single dog boxes out of 4'X6' ½ rubber mat -
Farm & Fleet
enough left for the double (comes out to $10 per box)
Nov 30 ran two singles at 75 yds using a canvass bumper and large Dokken
(different area of the
baseball field, wearing the e-collar) - good focus, fast out & back plus
much better returns
note: QB & hold in game room - steady "here/heel" reps are now carrying over
into
the field on her marks
note: switched to feeding twice a day
note: Daisy now sits at the door without a command once in awhile, kennel-up is
solid,
on heel she is still very "busy" and off leash in the house she is a terror (not
as
bad as a month ago)
note: Daisy takes corrections really well (just like Taffey)...........shows no
pout or quit &
when all that extra energy gets channeled.......look out!
